these are good cards, flash was a cinch and have been stable @560/610 and get about 6150 in '05.
will test more and post screens when I actually join the forum :0

btw: got the GTO2 from newegg for $199, seems they have gone up $20 in 2 days.

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Looks like I ordered mine just in time.

I received it today, but I'm not done with testing yet. I just finished with finding my max overclocks before the mod. They are about 525 or 530 for the core and 604 for the memory (makes sense for the memory since the 1.6 ns chips are rated for 600 MHz, according to the Samsung site). I'll be benchmarking it then flashing the bios, then doing it all over again. I'll post my final results later or tomorrow.

It's kind of strange; it never artifacts at all while overclocking the gpu, it just eventually crashes when set too high. On my X800 GT, it would have artifacts before getting to the point that it would crash.

All done testing. The softmod was a success! Is it still a 100% success rate so far? BTW, I didn't download the modified bios to do it, I just used atiflash 3.09 to make a backup of the original bios, flashed an X850XT PE bios using the -newbios option (I don't remember which brand, but it probably doesn't matter), then flashed back the original bios without the -newbios option.

Max overclock (on stock cooling): 520 MHz core, 604 MHz memory

Here are my 3dmark 2005 scores with default settings. I've added in the X800GT clock speeds and the scores for my X800GT for comparison with an 8 pipeline setup at equivalent speeds, plus at some other speeds just for a comparison of what each is capable of.

I couldn't quite reach the X850XT PE's core clock speed on stock cooling or reach as high of a core overclock as my X800GT, but it is still fast enough to get a very good score. Until I bought this card, I thought I'd never have a card this fast so soon.

Sorry if it's a lame question but... does the Sapphire come with the Rage Theater chip?
I mean, I got me a Connect3d GTO and I was wandering if flashing it with the modded Sapphire GTO2 bios will have any effect on the video-in.

All done testing. The softmod was a success! Is it still a 100% success rate so far? BTW, I didn't download the modified bios to do it, I just used atiflash 3.09 to make a backup of the original bios, flashed an X850XT PE bios using the -newbios option (I don't remember which brand, but it probably doesn't matter), then flashed back the original bios without the -newbios option.

Max overclock (on stock cooling): 520 MHz core, 604 MHz memory

Here are my 3dmark 2005 scores with default settings. I've added in the X800GT clock speeds and the scores for my X800GT for comparison with an 8 pipeline setup at equivalent speeds, plus at some other speeds just for a comparison of what each is capable of.

I couldn't quite reach the X850XT PE's core clock speed on stock cooling or reach as high of a core overclock as my X800GT, but it is still fast enough to get a very good score. Until I bought this card, I thought I'd never have a card this fast so soon.

That's just plain awesome. Thanks Shadow, that really shows what the cards can do, VERY helpful man. I gotta test my card of 3DMark 05, I haven't downloaded it yet since I reformatted my hard drive, but I'd like to see how the Nvidia counterpart compares to this crazy crazy card.

Shadow, can you explain how to make a startup floppy? I'm trying to flash an Nvidia and I don't remember how to flash cards (I used to flash the 9800), and not sure what types of files I need to make it a startup disk (.exe, .rom, .bin)

It's pretty simple no matter what Windows version you have. On any Windows version, insert a floppy disk into the drive, right-click the floppy drive in explorer, then click format. In there there is an option either saying something about making an ms-dos startup disk or copying system files depending on your version of Windows. Select that option and click start.

After you have your startup disk, copy to the disk the flash utility and any bios rom files you want to use. If your bios isn't setup to boot off a disk, you will need to change it to boot off of it. The process varies between different bioses.

1) Make a backup of your original bios.
2) Flash any compatible 16 pipeline enabled bios using atiflash's -newbios option.
3) Flash your original bios without the -newbios option.

It's as simple as that, no modded bios needed.

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Thanks for the advice, Sha. Still, I'm not sure if I understand this. It's not like I've flashed tons of hardware, but could you explain to me how 16 pipelines will remain active if I flash the bios back to the original?

And which are the compatible bios files, 'xept for the Saphire one that's going around?

Can the Connect3d X800GTO card be unlocked to 16 pipes?? ive seen atleast 6 people say yes and 6 people say no, What gives????!?! if the answer is yes why are people buying the more expensive GTO2 ?????

Can the Connect3d X800GTO card be unlocked to 16 pipes?? ive seen atleast 6 people say yes and 6 people say no, What gives????!?! if the answer is yes why are people buying the more expensive GTO2 ?????

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evidence suggests that the GTO "may" be unlocked but is by no means guaranteed. I think it's a load of crap that people are getting the GTO cards to unlock. Best bet is to stick with the GTO2 if you want a 16 pipe card. Don't forget, on the internet people can say anything.

Thanks for the advice, Sha. Still, I'm not sure if I understand this. It's not like I've flashed tons of hardware, but could you explain to me how 16 pipelines will remain active if I flash the bios back to the original?

And which are the compatible bios files, 'xept for the Saphire one that's going around?

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The way it works is that when you do not use the -newbios option, there are settings it keeps in the bios. The number of pixel pipelines enabled is one such setting.

As for ones that are compatible, you need to know what type of gpu you have. Look or ask around to see if you can find out what type yours is. It should be either and R423, R430, or R480 (most likely R480). After finding that out, look up that gpu in the gpu database on this site to find what 16 pixel pipeline cards use that. When you've found that, download a bios for that type of card from the bios download page on this site.

Unregistered said:

ok can someone please answer this question?

Can the Connect3d X800GTO card be unlocked to 16 pipes?? ive seen atleast 6 people say yes and 6 people say no, What gives????!?! if the answer is yes why are people buying the more expensive GTO2 ?????

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The reason people are buying the GTO2 is that there has been a 100% success rate so far for unlocking them just by flashing the bios. Sometimes it's better to get something that's (basically) guaranteed than taking a chance with something that isn't. Also, so far none have been found to have any defective pipelines either. Even if another card is unlockable, it is not necessarily guaranteed that those pipelines are not defective.

Besides, this card has a power connection, but other GTO's I've seen don't. That's probably something significant; it could possibly be needed when unlocking the pipelines and overclocking. It makes sense since the higher end ATI cards have it, right?

The C3D GTO has a power connector as well... well, it has two actually, the other one looks like the floppy power pins...

Now, lets see if I understand what I've read so far here:

1. Flash my C3D GTO with -newbios and the modded Sapphire (or a C3D XL bios) 16p bios to get the pipes.
2. Flash without -newbios back to my original GTO bios so that I can get my Theater too.
3. Pray to whatever deity I believe in...

So, do I get this correctly? Sure, I'll first make certain I have some free time on my hands and make me a autoflash recovery diskette...

Ehh, sounds like fun.

PS: I haven't played around with my GTO too much yet, but I do get the 12 pipes to stable 550 MHz core and 73c temp. Haven't tried to go highter.
No idea what the core is - ATI Tool detects a 423, but that's most likely due to the bios. Taking off the heatsink does not appeal to me, for now.